75th Anniversary of 1944 Group Build (World at War)

Thanks, it is kind of a complicated structure, but being as it is Tamiya, it went together like a charm!  Tamiya makes modelling such a pleasurable experience, with parts engineered to fit perfectly, first time, every time!

Good to know.  I've had a Tamiya Spitfire hanging around for years.  One of these days I'll get around to trying it.

More progress on the Ki-61 and more experimenting with weathering NMF. I do regret not trying some kind of prep on top of the primer - some kind of variation on black basing. But, I also wanted to see how the Vallejo Metal Color paints worked under "normal" conditions. The original coat went down fine. As noted last time I painted some panels different shades of NMF and decaled it.

decaled by Eric Bergerud, on Flickr

Too much contrast between the panels and the main fuselage and too much uniformity all around. I got out the paint mule and tried something suggested in a Vallejo YouTube "how to" - I added some Model Air to the Metal Colors and very thinly misted new streaks and blotches. One mix had a little black in it, another a little blue and the last a little olive drab.. Both the black and blue gave some interesting different modulations of the main aluminum - I also sprayed on more MC to lessen the difference of the panels. The olive drab hue did a pretty good job evoking some exhaust. I don't know how much of this will be visible after the upcoming oils and Com.Art washes, but I'm going out of my way to experiment. When you spray misting coats over a solid NMF it will dull the effect - but I think the exchange is well worth it because I don't want something uniform and shinny. Indeed, we've got a lot left to do to give this bird the worn look I've seen on every pic of a wartime NMF Ki-61.

Eric

irregular2 by Eric Bergerud, on Flickr

irregular1 by Eric Bergerud, on Flickr

ki-61met by Eric Bergerud, on Flickr

That looks very good--very close to what is visible in the reference photo.  Nice work!

I seem to have missed an update. I had the pre paint pics taken and loaded onto Flickr 10 days ago but seem to have forgotten to post them. So a double update this time.

Got the underside gondola masked up and fitted.

And the same for the pit canopy and upper turret.

After some primer, the paint. RLM 65 underneath and 72/73 on top. This ofcourse included the best bit of painting German aircraft, masking for the splinter camo.

And then the decals. I do like Xtradecals, they lay down nice and i have never had any issues with them.

Just somelight weathering to add, going to give it a wash with flry and some exhaust staining.

Nice camouflage 72/73 is a tricky one to match . 

Thanks Nick. I always find the Xtracolor paints a good match.

Great looking Condor Bish!

Thinking of entering this GB... Do shelf of doom kits qualify or only new builds?

Nice one, Bish.  Finish photos should be spectacular.  The upper surface greens are different enough to show the distinct colors.

Too bad we can't get Xtracolour this side of the ocean.

cbaltrin:  you're more than welcome.  Sometimes shelf-of-doom type builds are more work than starting with a new kit.  

What are you planning?

checkmateking02

cbaltrin:  you're more than welcome.  Sometimes shelf-of-doom type builds are more work than starting with a new kit.  

What are you planning?

 

Cheers guys.

Check, our LHS has a small selection, but they get most of their stuff from Hannants, as it is quite local. But other than that, Hannants is the only place to get it.

Bish

Cheers guys.

Check, our LHS has a small selection, but they get most of their stuff from Hannants, as it is quite local. But other than that, Hannants is the only place to get it.

And there's no overseas shipments of paint anymore, although I did get some Xtracolour WWI paint before the plug was pulled.

Bish,

You really doing that kit in enamels? I had no idea you were a traditionalist - and if so, I'll admire from a distance. The acrylic version, Xtracrylics can be purchased from Hannats - I've got several of them - although I can't say that I like them much. (It costs little extra to buy materials from Europe and the big places will ship.)

Every paint has its own drummer. Xtracrylics remind me of Revell Aquacolor or Life Color. Each is a water based acrylic (not solvent like Tamiya or Gunze much less lacquers like Alcald). Yet each has a different range of extra goodies (retarders, flow improvers etc) and a different pigment ratio so that they are different in an airbrush. I'm a water based acrylic fundamentalist and can judge from Olympus because I use the best water based acrylic on earth - Golden High Flow - and nobody else will because it doesn't have military colors. (Vallejo is my all around second paint and works super for color sampling and hand painting - I prefer Model Color to Model Air, but that's because I usually use them by hand.) I've used both Aqua Color and Life Color many times. Both are excellent for hand painting. I've sprayed them both with a few bumps. I'm positive that a familiarity with Aqua Color would lead to very good results - the colors are good and the self-leveling is excellent. Life Color is a bit of a problem child, but again, I'm sure I could make it a standard paint. (One huge advantage of using Golden paints for so long is that I've learned a lot about mediums and additives. Those skills would be very to use on any paint. But none has the pigment load and precision of High Flow. Mission Models is a competitor - I have quibbles, but certainly recommend them. They do have military colors in spades. Just make sure you buy their thinner and "pigment enhancer" - those are a must. And unnecessary if you use High Flow.)
I think that a lot of modelers don't quite get the fundamental difference between water based acrylics and solvent based. The solvent based (Gunze, Tamiya, and I think Mr. Paint) can be considered "acrylic lacquers." Odd term, but true. What it really means is that you can use water (in small amounts) to thin and clean the paints. Lacquer paints like Alclad or the new AK "Real Colors" are not so forgiving. The big advantage of the "lacquer" side of the equation is that the paint bonds to the plastic. (This is very dramatic if you use a pure lacquer primer like Duplicolor which I do - outside only natch.) Solvents also change the pigment bonding nature of the paints, allowing very highly thinned coats which make paints like Gunze perfect for "painting small." If a person was just starting with an airbrush I would recommend Tamiya paints with Tamiya or Gunze Lacquer thinner without qualification.) The advantage of the "acrylic" side is that the paints aren't so hard on the nose and eyes. (Do note that Tamiya/Gunze and all lacquers warn of being toxic and flammable. A water based acrylic is neither.) The disadvantage of the acrylic/lacquer is that they don't bond as well as lacquers and they do smell more than water based - kind of in the middle. Tamiya is responding with a new line of lacquer paints just out. I'm sure they will be trumps, but I won't be buying them.

Water based acrylics are not only different to use (no smell, clean with water, drink the stuff if you must - that's why acrylics are popular in elementary schools) but also look different.  This is a tough concept to grasp, but stay with me. Acrylic/lacquers and lacquers because they bond with the plastic make the plastic to appear to change color. If that's what you want, they're perfect. (Bonding also greatly enhances the ability to sand them.) Water acrylics leave a surface that looks like paint has been applied over something else. This is why you often deal with a kind of "film' when using water based acrylics. (I'm not really sure how enamels fit into this equation - they may actually be like lacquers or water based acrylics - I simply don't use them.) This puts the modeler in an interesting position - which effect do you want. (I grant the difference is subtle from over five feet.) Real world weapons were made of metal. No solvent will penetrate metal the way it will styrene. (That's one reason metal was coated with various protective coats of extremely potent oxides.) Next time you go to an aircraft museum, ask yourself whether the plane in front of you looks like it's been painted or whether the color you see represents the color of the metal. When I go to the Smithsonian it's very clear that the paint is distinct from the finish. However, if you think of natural metal finish where the "silver" (or whatever) is the color of the metal, you really can't beat a lacquer paint to achieve the effect. As good as the Vallejo Metal Colors are, they don't quite 'change the color" of the plastic.

Lots of ways to approach this hobby - makes it fun.

Eric

Check, i know, its a pain that you can export enamels

Eric, i have been useing Xtracolor for over 30 years now. I have never used Xrtacrylics but then i do find enamels easier than acrylic paints. Though i am in the process of useing up some of my enamel ranges and switching to MRP mainly because of issues i have had when oil weathering.

Tamiya 1/48 Ki-61-1d

Paints: Vallejo Metal Colors, Golden High Flow Acrylics

Weathering: Oil Wash, Iwata Com.Art Acrylics

Let's call the Tamiya Ki-61 a wrap.

ki-61met by Eric Bergerud, on Flickr

rt-iphone by Eric Bergerud, on Flickr

tonyprofileview by Eric Bergerud, on Flickr

lft-ft3 by Eric Bergerud, on Flickr

In sum, there's no problem with this kit - it was a delight from start to finish. The fit is amazing, the instructions tops and it includes canopy masks and a full scale diagram of the model to help you mask the kit (not needed here, but invaluable in other new Tamiya kits.) Tamiya makes better models than anyone else - the only argument is who is runner up. (Their Christmas kit is a new 1/48 P-38G - there are no tolerable P-38 kits on the market, and this one is supposed to be a stunner.) It doesn't hurt that the Japanese, for the most part, built very handsome planes - and the Ki-61 is a good example.

I was also very impressed with the Vallejo Metal Color Paints. They were very easy to apply and to my eyes are a pigment so fine that it equals the best Gunze metallics. I can't compare it to Alclad or other new lacquers because I can't use lacquers - I'd be looking at a divorce, and I hate the smell of true lacquers also. The Vallejo line are all true water based acrylics and easily worked with. In any case, this means I'll be able to do basically any plane in NMF - a real plus. Might add that the Ki-61 has basically no seams on top or bottom (the plane was derived from the BF-109E - and that aircraft - as Tamiya points out - carries an open seam on top and bottom). The Ki-61 carries a piece over the top rear seam, and the top front seam is supposed to be there. The fit was so good that getting rid of the bottom seams was done almost perfectly. I made one mistake in the build. If you want the cockpit open, you use different parts. When open, the two rear portions pile on top of each other, and that's on top of a well weathered rear cockpit. A closed canopy would have shown the fine clear parts better. (Actually, why do I always build open canopies? There was lots of rain in most WWII theaters, and I'd guess keeping the canopy shut would have been a good idea. Where would a Ki-61 been stationed in 1944? Somewhere near Clark Field in the Philippines would be a good guess - and it rains there a lot.)

The pic below shows the model after plane was painted and the panels muted with different shades of Metal Colors sprayed carefully. It also shows the orange leading edge and a blue/black anti-glare panel. (I put both over salt and which gives them a pretty good chipping to my eyes. Both were Golden High Flow mixes and worked perfectly.) As you can see, I decided to simplify the model's markings. I decided not to employ a black/green mottle and dispensed with the elaborate markings. Actually most photos I found of NMF Ki-61s were pretty bare - large numbers, however, were painted IJAAF green - which closely resembles olive drab. Anyway, I'm sure all of the elaborate decals provided by Tamiya would have looked neat, but I really wanted a clean platform to try out the Metal Colors - this is the first serious NMF plane I've done. (I've got two Oscars in the stash - we'll give one of those a proper green mottle over NMF - that's a lovely aircraft.)

irregular2 by Eric Bergerud, on Flickr

Weathering went pretty well I think. I knew I didn't want a F-86 type super shine - surely no Japanese combat aircraft ever looked like that, and I doubt many allied did either. That meant I didn't need a super gloss primer. I had some trouble with Stynelrez I used it once thinned and it worked great - this one I tried straight at high PSI as recommended so a little too much got down. When I tried to adjust with sanding, the primer peeled. Fortunately I had my "go to" Duplicolor "Hot Rod Black" automotive "sandable/fillable" primer and fixed it up perfectly well. After giving that a light sand, the effect was a kind of satin black - about perfect for what I wanted. (Note to self- use Duplicolor for all aircraft - I have to go outside to use it, but it's terrific stuff.) Anyway, the first step was to give the plane a light panel line wash using Gamblin and Windsor Newton oils - figure 50/50 black/burnt umber. That's a great wash. I use an extremely mild spirit from Gamblin called Gamsol, and it's terrific. Unfortunately I didn't take a pic. (Should add that I did put some of Vallejo Metal Color Varnish over the model before the weathering. On my paint mule, I found it superior to AK Gauzy. The aim here is to not be visible - that would mess up the metallic effect. I put Vallejo varnish on one wing before the other and couldn't tell the difference. On general principal I did want something between oils and the acrylics.) The last step was a pretty liberal dabbing using Com.Art transparent paints - most smoke (black really), some blue/black smoke and some "old oil." I can't really describe Com.Art to someone who hasn't used it. The paint's really designed for working on paper - hence large numbers of transparent and opaque colors. (I'm sure the opaque colors would stick to Duplicolor - it's almost tempting to try doing a model with them. They're made for airbrushing and do come out splendidly. But my Golden High Flow are so good, that there's no reason to go elsewhere.) For weathering I use a paint brush. Com.Art smoke makes a very good panel wash - faint the way I like it - but the oils worked so well that wasn't necessary. What Com.Art does like no other paint I know is create a grime. If you could see it in person, you can see the kind of sticky texture - reminds one of exhaust or dirt ground into oil. So I sort of dab it on - and try to keep the cover very irregular. I did want a lot more grime from the cockpit forward. Ki-61s were famous for burning oil. I can only assume the wings would have shown that too. Com.Art is also well suited to emulate scuffing from aircrew. (The Japanese never really got its engine to work reliably, even though they had full plans and a working example from Mercedes - Japanese engineers were excellent, but their skills were squandered on an industrial base that couldn't match the quality control found in allied or German planes. That's why both Zeros and Oscars were in production in 1945 - all of the second generation IJ aircraft were "hangar queens" for much of their life. The best Ki-61 was a model mated with a decent radial engine becoming the very fast Ki-100.) I think the photos of wartime Ki-61s above show the extremely untidy finish - especially in the front half of the plane. Below is a detail shot of the front and one of the rear - both show grime, but the second has less.

det1 by Eric Bergerud, on Flickr

det3 by Eric Bergerud, on Flickr

Below are some more pics of the complete bird. I used different lighting on the pictures. An interesting characteristic of NMF is that the plane changes color dramatically depending upon where light and shadow appear. There are very good color photos of US late war P-47 squadrons on YouTube and the planes appearance varies on every change of angle. And none of the Jugs looks clean and shinny either.

Eric

lft-ft2 by Eric Bergerud, on Flickr

lft-r2 by Eric Bergerud, on Flickr

lft-ft3 by Eric Bergerud, on Flickr

rear by Eric Bergerud, on Flickr

r-rear by Eric Bergerud, on Flickr

rt-r by Eric Bergerud, on Flickr

rt-ft (2) by Eric Bergerud, on Flickr

rt-ft by Eric Bergerud, on Flickr

Nice work on the ki-61. Also, I think that is the record for the longest to post in the forum :-)

Excellent build as usual Eric. I like the description of the weathering, good info for the file. I can't believe this is your first NMF  . I'd look forward to your Oscar.

That is outstanding work, Eric.  I think you managed to capture the wear and weathering indicated in the photos of the full size plane.  Very well done!

Do you have a preference for the finish photo?  

Thanks for being part of the GB.  It's always an education watching your builds come together.

Superb looking buld Eric, that weathering is really nice. Great job.

Got my Condor wrapped up last night, going to get some final pics tomorrow.

Time to wrap this up. I got the Condor finished last weekend. Undercarrage, flaps and other bits were added. I gave it a light Flory wash and some exhaust staining. Really pleased with the end result, for once i haven't completly blended the 2 greens.

Then spent last week finishing off the vehciels and figures. I do like those Academy trucks, its my second this year. The Kubel is Hasegawa and the figures all Airfix.

Thnaks for letting me share this Check, i've been itching to build a Condor for a while. Please choose which ever pic you wish.

I'm looking forward to next year already, got 3 kits lined up including a floaty thing.

Eric awesome job all around realistic looking.

Bish that camouflage spot on great looking fw.

Eric:  I've added your Tony to the finish-build, front page.  A stunning aircraft! 

Bish:  Fantastic Condor!  Great work on the camo and the weathering.  And the radar on the nose is breath-taking for complexity and detail.  It's a great looking diorama.

Thanks for being part of the GB.  It's always a pleasure to see the results of your work.

Yup--1945 will be here before we know it.

Cheers guys.

The radar was rather tricky. I actually lost the first section half way through puting it together. But as luck would have it, i have the Eduard set for the Trumpeter Condor. It covers both the C-3 and C-4 and so includes the same radar for the latter. But as i have the C-3, it's not needed, so that was fortunate.

Eric, ye, it is pretty small, but i think they always make a nice addition. I have the Revell 1/72nd S-100 S-Boat, so will be doing that next year.

Nice work Bish.

I believe you have several Kubelwagens and other sundry ground unit kits just lying around in the stash to add to your dios. 

Thanks Steve. And yes, i have one or two . I need to try and include some of those bike and sidecar kits that come with the Kubel in the Hasegawa box, i know have quite a few of those.